Tusinger, 26, quit his job practicing insurance law at a private firm. He now helps low-income tornado survivors as a Legal Aid attorney.
Kate Massey, 30, who worked at Edward Jones, cut short her maternity leave when her daughter was just 6 weeks old to become executive director of Rebuild Joplin, a community nonprofit.
As the storm clouds drew near on May 22, Massey’s family headed out to celebrate her 3-year-old son’s birthday. They survived the tornado by huddling in an Applebee’s kitchen with other customers and restaurant workers. The restaurant wasn’t damaged, but the twister touched down just four blocks away.
The twister - categorized as EF-5, a designation reserved for the fiercest storms - was one of the deadliest in American history. It killed 161 people, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and left behind a nearly 14-mile trail of damage that virtually split the city of 50,000 in half.
The next morning, Massey’s efforts to help began in the workplace: Several Edward Jones offices in Joplin were among the damaged buildings, and employees at the St. Louis-based company rallied to help co-workers who lost their homes. Clients also suffered, including the family of 18-year-old Will Norton, who died while driving home from Joplin High School’s graduation.
“That’s how it started,’’ Massey said. “Everybody had a friend or a family or a co-worker affected. As those needs diminished, we realized there needed to be more done.’’
Amanda Bilke, 33, left her job as a State Farm Insurance account manager in January in order to join Massey at Rebuild Joplin, where she is now the volunteer coordinator. She, too, had a close call: The tornado hit her boyfriend’s home, just 30 minutes after the couple had gone their separate ways for dinner.
